Partially due to the play of Michael Bennett, Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik is not in a rush to replace the fallen Da’Quan Bowers.
Last week when Bucs defensive end Da’Quan Bowers blew out his Achilles tendon in his right leg, which appears to be a season-ending injury it was a bad hit for the depth of a yet unproven Bucs defensive line.
New Bucs coach referred to Bowers’ injury as “a great loss.”
That, however, didn’t put Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik into panic mode. Dominik said yesterday at the Bucs OTA that he is willing to see how his current troops hold up before he does anything rash in trying to replace the void left by Bowers’ injury, so documents cool cat Scott Purks of CBSSports.com.
“Right now, I think we’re trying to evaluate these men that we have here for a little bit before we feel like we have to [look for a free agent replacement].”
This is the smart thing to do. As Pat Kirwan said yesterday on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Dominik can always workout free agent defensive ends at One Buc Palace and tell their agents to not sign a deal anywhere before they call Dominik.
Though word out of Gotham suggests stud, versatile Giants defensive lineman Osi Umenyiora can be had for a third round pick, and while Joe would love to have him on the Bucs roster, Umenyiora is in his contract year, is barking for big money, and has a gimpy knee.
So a trade for Umenyiora would likely mean little more than a rent-a-player. Let’s see how George Johnson pans out before Dominik has to push the panic button.
It’s still possible that the Bucs could survive a season without Bowers.
To hear Tim Ryan talk about free agent veteran defensive end Andre Carter, who racked up 10 sacks and a Pro Bowl invitation last year with Bill Belicheat, Carter is the ideal Buccaneer Man for the New Schiano World Order in Tampa.
Ryan told a panic-stricken Bucs fan caller on SiriusXM NFL Radio on Monday, “You’d love Andre Carter. He’s the first guy on the field, last one off. There’d be nobody in better condition or more ready to go than Andre Carter.”
Ryan, a former Bears defensive tackle, said Carter is the first name he’d seek to replace DaQuan Bowers if he were rockstar general manager Mark Dominik.
At 33 years old and coming off a quadriceps injury that limited him to 14 games, Carter hardly fits the Bucs’ yungry mold. However, Greg Schiano mentor Bill Belicheat embraced the guy, the Bucs were last in the NFL in sacks in 2011, and George Johnson seems to be the alternative.
The way Ryan talks about Carter’s work ethic, it would seem hard for the Bucs to go wrong signing him to a one-year deal. They can always cut him.
Nothing earthshaking in this TampaBay.com video from practice today at One Buc Palace, but you’ll love it if you crave anything related to Bucs football. What struck Joe about the video is Jeremy Zuttah wearing a long sleeved shirt under his jersey. The dude either didn’t catch the weather report, or he’s putting himself through some serious heat training.
The New Schiano Order was quickly established at One Buc Palace this morning for the Bucs’ first OTA practice after the draft. It was a stark, stunning contrast from practices of the past few years.
Rigid. Detailed. No wasted time. Players moved with a sense of urgency. Fundamentals were not just stressed, but demanded and polished in drills.
“Avoid contact. Be smart. Do it the right way. To be the best you have to be your best right now,” Schiano bellowed. Joe’s guessing Ric Flair is smiling somewhere.
It was very much like a college atmosphere. Lot of clapping from all the players during drills. Lot of yelling too, almost like a boot camp. Lot of enthusiasm.
“Attitude, attitude!” Schiano yells as practice drills begin. Then, a player Joe couldn’t make out felt the wrath of the New Schiano Order for not completing a drill to its fullest extent.
It’s not just the players who are expected to sprint between drills and stations. So too is Schiano. He watches practice at one field, then bolts to another field for a better view.
What appeared to be the first team defense in a scrimmage of sorts against the first team offense, first round pick Mark Barron was out there, to no one’s surprise. Aqib Talib and Ronde Barber were the corners and Ahmad Black as the remaining safety.
How much of a stickler to fundaments is Schiano? He had his players go through a tackling drill that Joe performed (daily) in high school. Four dummies were spread out in a line to represent holes a running back would run through. A ballcarrier would run paralell to the dummies as would a defender. The runner would go through each hole and the defender, with shoulders squared to the line of scrimmage, would wrap-hit the runner properly, wrapping his arms round the runner like Joe would Rachel Watson in a sweaty, heavy-breathing intimate moment. Then the two would disengage and run to the next hole and repeat the tackle/wrap-up. The way the Bucs horribly whiffed on tackling last year, this drill is sorely needed.
Defenders weren’t the only ones who had to endure a high school fundamental drill. Offensive linemen had to run drills through a cage of an apparatus that kept the linemen low to the ground. If they raised up too quick, they got a rude if not jarring awakening.
Running backs were not immune to the fundamental drills. Catching passes from quarterbacks, they too had to square their shoulders to the ball, then take off, biting the football.
Joe’s not sure what wide receiver Sammie Stroughter did wrong in one pass play but Joe’s pretty sure the priests at nearby Jesuit High School could hear Schiano yelling from their classrooms, “Use your arm, Sammie!”
Joe still is shaken at the sight of LeGarrette Blount catching so many passes. Why, Greg Olson had so many convinced Blount had the hands of a Helen Keller. Oh, and Blount was biting the football.
Seventh round pick, running back Michael Smith, got some reps in with the first team and, man, the dude has some quick feet.
There’s the Bucs version of the Packers sweep and Moises Madu scoots for a nice gain to the left.
George Johnson was getting a lot of work at left defensive end.
In one offensive line drill, pass blocking dummies were placed between each lineman’s feet so that on his first three or four steps backpedaling, he couldn’t step on a dummy. This was to improve footwork.
Remember the touchdown catch Mike Williams made in his first NFL game against the Browns at home in the 2010 opener? He duplicated that same circus catch this morning for a touchdown.
[Clarification: Just to be clear, in Joe’s description of the tackling drill above, at no point is the runner put on the ground. Once the defender wraps up properly, the two combatants disengage. It’s almost like a walk-through exercise.]
Blount was busy catching passes today as Doug Martin nursed a hamstring tweak
There were several things that caught Joe’s eye today at the Bucs’ OTA open to the local Tampa Bay chapter of the pen and mic club.
Bucs running back LeGarrette Blount was catching passes out of the backfield. Several in fact.
Quick, someone alert Greg Olson!
Joe didn’t see Blount drop one pass, but Joe cannot confirm he didn’t drop any.
Blount, who should have been the bellcow of the Bucs last season but was jerked around in several ways, including a grand total of five carries — FIVE! — in the season opener against Detroit and seemingly shoved aside for the world renown Benn’d-around play.
Blount said he knew the Bucs were going to bring in a running back in the offseason and welcomes the competition now coming from first round pick Doug Martin (who was held out of practice today with a tweaked hamstring, so said Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik) and speedy Michael Smith.
“I feel I am still [the No. 1 back] until someone takes it away from me,” said a slimmed-down Blount. “Nobody can effect how many carries I get than me.”
Joe thinks the competition — and an offensive coaching staff with a clue — will get the most out of Blount.
In his rookie year, trying to prove himself against veteran and fan-favorite Cadillac Williams, Blount shined.
The Bucs are practicing today in the May swelter at One Buc Palace and Kellen Winslow, Jr. is not on the field and not attending the first day of the latest optional OTA session.
Feel free to vent and toss around blind speculation in the comments.
Joe can’t hang the guy unless it becomes habitual. He might have a great excuse completely acceptable to the New Schiano Order.
Also not seen on the practice fields of One Buc Palace were wide receiver Dezmon Briscoe and defensive tackle Brian Price
Rockstar general manager Mark Dominik just spoke with Joe and other media types at One Buc Palace and made it clear he isn’t yet counting out a DaQuan Bowers return during the 2012 season.
Bowers, for those out of the loop, blew out his Achilles and had surgery last week.
Dominik said the Bucs will assess the early stages of Bowers’ rehabilitation and craft their judgments later. “We’ll see,” the rockstar said.
Joe still can’t see a reason to play Bowers in 2012. A six-month recovery would be near miraculous, and that puts Bowers into mid-November. It just doesn’t seem to be worth the risk for a guy that won’t be coming back at 100 percent.
Update: At his late-morning news conference, Greg Schiano called Bowers “a great loss.”
Joe thought it was a great, noteworthy sign that Freeman was stepping up his dedication. Though Joe surely didn’t think dropping 20 pounds would make Freeman a more effective quarterback.
But that seems to be a prevailing take among national media types and fans. Rich Gannon, on Sirius NFL Radio, referenced “big things” happening in the division yesterday during a discussion about Drew Brees and cited Freeman’s weight loss as one of them. Daniel Jeremiah’s division-by-division quarterbacks breakdown on NFL.com also zeroes in on Freeman’s weight loss.
Did Joe miss something? How exactly is Freeman’s weight loss going to make him a better player?
Mark Dominik said Freeman initiated the weight-loss regimen to gain flexibility in his torso. That’s great, but flexibility, or supposed lack thereof, is hardly a critical factor. Look what Freeman did in 2010 at a higher weight. And it’s not like he’s ever been fat.
Joe just wants it clear that he doesn’t think much of this weight loss, nor would Joe raise an eybrow if Freeman puts on weight between now and training camp, or gains weight during the season, when it likely will be harder to maintain whatever conditioning regimen he has in place now.
Joe’s far more concerned about Mike Sullivan’s playcalling ability and Freeman’s weapons staying healthy.
When Gerald McCoy joined the Bucs as the No. 3 overall pick in 2010, Raheem Morris quickly had him bouncing all around the defensive line, playing inside and outside.
Raheem was widely criticized for slowing McCoy’s development and mis-using him, and in short time the Bucs’ former defensive mastermind relented and made McCoy his beloved 3-technique only.
Well, some experts are now of the mind that McCoy has the skills to play left defensive end and easily could slide over in a rotation and be the Bucs’ option as the third defensive end behind Michael Bennett and Adrian “Boydog” Clayborn.
The well respected former defensive tackle Tim Ryan and ex-linebackers coach Pat Kirwan, hosts of Movin’ The Chains on SiriusXM NFL Radio, said yesterday in a discussion about the Bucs’ potential options without DaQuan Bowers that McCoy could easily be effective at left defensive end in the Greg Schiano’s scheme.
The consensus was that with Amobi Okoye available, the occasional movement of McCoy from his tackle position could be beneficial.
Maybe the assessment is spot on, but Joe can’t buy in. Joe hasn’t seen many 300-pound ends, and McCoy hardly has honed outside pass-rush moves. It would be interesting to watch, though.
Though Joe isn’t exactly curled up in a fetal position over the season-long loss to Da’Quan Bowers due to a tear of his Achilles tendon last week, Joe understands how this will certainly hurt the Bucs.
(Yes, Joe knows Bowers could return late in the season, but why? There’s no reason to hold a roster spot for Bowers just for the final two or three games. And why rush him back when he could do more damage? That’s irresponsible.)
Though Bowers started the last few games of 2011, he was a part-time player exchanging possessions if not plays with Michael Bennett.
But the loss of Bowers may hurt the secondary more than the defensive line. That’s the thought from eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune, as he appeared with Tom Krasniqi on WHBO-AM 1040 recently to discuss Bowers’ injury.
Kaufman believes that with Bowers gone, the Bucs may have to blitz more, and that isn’t a good thing he added.
“You don’t want to blitz [with defensive backs]. They don’t have a sterling secondary. It’s not a lock-tight secondary yet. Blitzing is too much pressure on them. It’s not going to work with this group.”
But blitzing from linebackers, Kaufman said, is a different story. He is of the mind that the Bucs will work in special packages to take advantage of the pass rushing skills of Dakoda Watson and the speed of Lavonte David to put heat on the quarterback.
Joe had a warm and fuzzy feeling this afternoon listening to Movin’ the Chains, hosted Pat Kirwan and Tim Ryan on SiriusXM NFL Radio.
Kirwan, the former and Jets team executive and linebackers coach, now a busy analyst for CBS Sports and NFL.com and others, talked about how NFL teams will be going into their computer archives to pull up film of Monte Kiffin’s Bucs stifling Michael Vick in his prime with the Falcons.
Why? To prepare to play the Redskins and Robert Griffin, III.
What a great memory on a mid-May day.
Those were amazing Bucs-Falcons showdowns that showcased the greatness of Derrick Brooks like no other. (Interesting that the Bucs will take on both Vick and the Eagles and RGIII and the Skins at home in 2012).
And of course, any talk of a Bucs-Vick matchup would be incomplete without this Chucky video.
One of the little-discussed byproducts of the Buccaneers’ draft was Mason Foster clearly being gifted the starting middle linebacker gig for 2012.
Lavonte David is too small to play middle linebacker, and rookie Najee Goode, a fifth-round pick, is here more to challenge Quincy Black and Dakoda Watson than Foster. So Foster, who led NFL rookies in tackles last season, is coming into his second consecutive season as the Bucs’ main man in the middle.
But it’s still a huge responsibility for Foster, who just turned 23. The Bucs are rolling out a brand new defense, and Foster has said he was too hesitant last year. Also, while Joe believes Raheem Morris’ defensive assessments carry little weight, Raheem often talked about cutting back the defensive playbook to let guys like Foster to play faster.
Sure, the Panthers have Jon Beason, but he’s coming back from an Achillies tear in September. Kuechly was a top pick, considered the best linebacker prospect in years and a surefire star-in-waiting at middle linebacker, yet the Panthers seem disinterested in having a rookie MLB despite Beason being a 2010 Pro Bowler at outside linebacker.
Joe’s no Panthers insider, but it’s telling that they won’t give Kuechly the keys to the MLB job.
There’s no reason to believe Foster can’t develop and thrive, but in Joe’s mind he’s got an uphill battle in 2012.
During the grotesque 10-game losing streak to end last season, which resulted in Raheem Morris being jettisoned from the Bucs, the defense had so many holes Joe couldn’t begin to guess where to begin fixing the porous unit.
It seems Matt Williamson does. The former NFL scout now works for BSPN and he put fingers to keyboard and believes the selection of Mark Barron by Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik will go a long way to solving many of the ills.
Barron is very NFL-ready, versatile, a big-time leader and a great fit in today’s NFL that is loaded with freak-of-nature tight ends such as the Saints’ Jimmy Graham, who obviously resides in the division.
The Bucs were very light at safety before this draft and there were few elite prospects from which to pick. Tampa Bay will ask Barron to do a lot of different things in terms of his alignment, coverage responsibilities, blitzing and run support. Barron can handle a deep-half assignment as well as doing battle with wide receivers, tight ends and running backs in man coverage. Barron also will spend plenty of time near the line of scrimmage and is an excellent run-support defender and tackler. Barron’s leadership, intellect and feel for the game might be his best qualities. The Bucs’ defense desperately needs a major infusion of all those traits.
There is a common trait about the Bucs defenders drafted last month and a handful of defensive free agents: they are versatile.
This is a smart move by Greg Schiano. There are so many holes to fill that bringing in guys who play multiple positions not only means he can fix the defense quicker, but he can employ multiple formations and sets without having to substitute so often.
Bucs linebacker Quincy Black watches Diana Rose's reaction to being awarded a new car by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
As we wind down Mother’s Day 2012 — strangely, a sports bar/watering hole Joe frequents in St. Peterburg was virtually vacant tonight — Joe brings a really cool story about how the Bucs helped out a great mother in need, and perhaps made the family’s year if not decade.
The Bucs early this month completed a search for a mom most in need of a car, and awarded a single-mother of four, Diana Rose of Clearwater, who relies on public transportation to get to work each day, a brand new Ford Focus.
Rose also volunteers at her children’s schools. She is a student mentor at Clearwater High School, and a math tutor at Belleair Elementary School. Rose also has developed a poetry lesson plan at Largo Middle School.
Rose can relate to some of the citizens she helps. Though Rose has a car, she confesses it is unreliable. For four years she took public transportation to work, a job where her supervisor can’t remember Rose ever being late.
Additionally, Rose walks six miles round-trip to Clearwater High School for her mentoring program, in addition to her trips to Largo Middle School and Belleair Elementary.
In the Clearwater Patch article, Rose noted how now she can take her son to soccer practice each day and use her car for additional responsibilities at work. Now with a car, she got a promotion. She works for the State of Florida helping needy families find assistance.
Joe has been holding on to this story for a while because he thought it was a tremendous Mother’s Day story, and Joe gives props to the Bucs for reaching out and helping a good woman, a great mother, making her family’s life just a little bit easier.
For some reason, “The Professor,” John Clayton of BSPN, believes Doug Martin is tougher than LeGarrette Blount and the Bucs’ lead running back job is Martin’s to lose. Clayton explains in this BSPN video. Joe dove into the ongoing Blount-Martin debate yesterday.
Joe definitely was a fan of “The King of Hustle,” but when he was cut from the Bucs in March, Joe figured The King of Hustle was about as far off the Bucs’ radar as a player could be.
(For those confused and/or link-challenged, The King of Hustle is Tim Crowder, who caught the nickname from Raheem Morris in 2010.)
When you’re a defensive end, a premium position, and you get the boot in March, that’s quite a strong signal that your team has no use for you. But hold on, says Tampa Bay Times Bucs beat writer Stephen Holder.
The Bucs now need serious help at defensive end and, according to Holder, Crowder is likely “very high on that list” of potential DE signings for rockstar general manager Mark Dominik and company. Speaking to Tom Krasniqi of WHBO-AM 1040 last week, Holder claimed teams like the Bucs prefer a familiar face when they’re looking to fill roster spots, so Crowder might be the top choice to replace injured Da’Quan Bowers on the depth chart.
Now Joe finds this a somewhat ridiculous premise that Crowder is on the Bucs’ radar. The guy had a sackless season in 10 games last year before going on injured reserve for a concussion. He was cut by the New Schiano World Order seven weeks ago and remains unemployed.
While Crowder has 10.5 career sacks and was known around here as a high-motor guy and a good special teams player, the Bucs need more than just a serviceable body to replace Bowers.
Joe still feels the pain of the Bucs finishing the 2011 season with only 23 sacks — dead last in the NFL. Joe prefers the Bucs go after one of the older veteran defensive ends on the market, or sit back ready to pounce on the one or two talents that will hit the waiver wire this summer.
Shoot, the Bucs hadn’t even had an OTA post NFL draft and already the team took a nasty loss when second-year defensive tackle Da’Quan Bowers tore an Achilles tendon working out at One Buc Palace and is likely lost for the season.
The subject of Bowers came up with “The Godfather,” Gil Brandt, Friday night on SiriusXM NFL Radio. Brandt, the architect of the Cowboys for three decades, drafting players from Bob Lilly to Michael Irvin, thought Bowers is a talented player but hinted he may never realize his ability. Brandt stopped just short of calling Bowers “injury prone.”
“Bowers has had the worst luck,” Brandt said. “When he was a junior he had about as good of a year at Clemson that a player could have and then he suffered a knee injury in a bowl game and he tried to come back too soon. He wasn’t quite the same. Now he has a torn Achilles.
“Some players just seem to be injury prone and there is really no rhyme or reason for it.”
This really depressed Joe to hear because there simply are too many key Bucs defensive players that always seem to be losing playing time with injuries. Joe can count four projected starters that are always hobbled or out for the season.
For the Bucs to do anything on defense, these players must remain healthy so they can stay on the field.
The buzz out of New York Giants rookie minicamp today interestingly centers around former Rutgers running back and fullback Joe Martinek. The guy was Greg Schiano’s bell cow as a sophomore, racking up 206 carries for 967 yards.
Interestingly, per the Star-Ledger, Martinek apparently spurned a job offer from Greg Schiano and signed with the Giants right after last month’s draft.
After going undrafted, former Rutgers fullback Joe Martinek said he was in contact with Buccaneers – and former Rutgers – head coach Greg Schiano, but chose the Giants because it “was the better fit for me.”
What made this stand out for Joe was a quote Joe read from Martinek saying how Schiano was a key figure in his development personally and professionally, combined with the lack of depth in the Bucs backfield. Sure, the Bucs drafted Doug Martin and have LeGarrette Blount. But Martinek didn’t want to follow his beloved college coach who has unproven Michael Smith and Mossis Madu sitting behind them on the depth chart?
Yeah, the Giants are the Super Bowl champs and Martinek was a Jersey high school legend, but it still felt odd that he passed on joining the New Schiano World Order.
Definitely keep an eye on Martinek as a guy that could land on the Bucs practice squad if the Giants cut him loose.
Two months ago, Joe was the first in the media 
When Gerald McCoy joined the Bucs as the No. 3 overall pick in 2010, Raheem Morris quickly had him bouncing all around the defensive line, playing inside and outside.
Joe had a warm and fuzzy feeling this afternoon listening to Movin’ the Chains, hosted Pat Kirwan and Tim Ryan on SiriusXM NFL Radio.
One of the little-discussed byproducts of the Buccaneers’ draft was Mason Foster clearly being gifted the starting middle linebacker gig for 2012.
Joe definitely was a fan of “
The buzz out of New York Giants rookie minicamp today interestingly centers around former Rutgers running back and fullback Joe Martinek. The guy was Greg Schiano’s bell cow as a sophomore, racking up 206 carries for 967 yards.
